By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
The main Nigeria’s opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Saturday, condemned in the strongest term ever, the violent clampdown by agents of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Muhammadu Buhari on Nigerians who are peacefully protesting on June 12 Democracy Day.
The party described the brutal clampdown on citizens on Democracy Day as a sacrilegious demonstration of APC’s aversion to democracy as well as its barefaced repugnance towards Nigerians, particularly in their demands for their rights.
The party noted that it is awkward that the APC and President Buhari, who were allowed their freedom when they protested in 2014, would turn around to subject Nigerians to actions of inhumanity including the use of firearms against the people, as being witnessed today Saturday.
In statement condemning the clampdown, PDP said: “It is instructive to note that President @MBuhari, in his supposed Democracy Day address, failed to rein in his security operatives despite the cautions by the @OfficialPDPNig. This places the culpability for whatever befalls Nigerians, in the face of the violent attacks by security agencies, on the APC as well as Mr. President’s desk.
‘The @OfficialPDPNig is not surprised that in his over 20 minutes speech, Mr. President never made any commitment towards upholding the democratic tenets of free speech, freedom of expression, freedom of association and right to peaceful protest, as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution and our statutes, from which he, as @OfficialAPCNg candidate, drew huge benefit in 2014.
“Our party is cataloguing all the infringements which the @OfficialAPCNg and President @MBuhari are rudely imposing on Nigerians and we urge all global democratic institutions to take note of the violent infringements and clampdown on democracy in Nigeria by the @OfficialAPCNg.
Replying to PDP, Adekunle Adetimirin said:
“They know how strong protest can be, to determine their staying on in power or otherwise. After all, they used it several times against GEJ and they je lo because they were allowed but, in their own case; mba nu!
Fury ? also replied to PDP
“Nigeria and democracy post 2015 should not be mentioned in the same sentence.